The present invention relates to communication networks and methods of operating the same, and, more particularly, to an overlay architecture for providing Internet telephony like features to time division multiplexed phones and methods of operating the same.
Internet telephony, also referred to herein as Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Voice-Over Network (VoN), and/or Internet Protocol Telephony (IP Telephony), is becoming increasingly popular due, in part, to marked improvements in reliability and sound quality of the service. The improved performance of Internet telephony communications may be due to upgrades made to the Internet backbone through improved switching fabrics, such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) fabrics, and to implementation of new communications standards, such as standards for transport protocols, directory services, and/or audio codec format.
Currently, to provide Internet telephony communications to a customer, a customer obtains equipment, such as Integrated Access Devices (IADs), Analog Terminal Adaptors (ATAs), telephone adapters (TAs), and the like, to be installed at the customer's premises, for example, a customer's home. The equipment is used to support a voice and control path within the premises and through a broadband network connection, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, back to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Once the necessary equipment is installed, customers/subscribers can connect their existing analog phones, for example, Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) phones, to the ATA(s). The ATA(s) provide such functionality as dial tone, battery, and power ringing as part of providing POTS functionality through the VoN service. Normally, a Central Office (CO) switch provides dial tone, battery, and power ringing for analog phones.
Internet telephony technology can provide telephone users with features such as calling name and number, call management options, and the like. While some customers may desire such features, they may not have access to the required broadband network connection and/or may prefer to continue to use their analog phones with the reliable time division multiplexing (TDM) technology and powered by the CO, rather than acquire the customer premises equipment (CPE) to support Internet telephony service.